271/365: Chanelle Clarke, Kilternan, Dublin
Meeting Chanelle was a bit of a whirlwind and extremely inspiring. She talked at such great speed, I can definitely tell that she spends the majority of the day alone, perhaps chatting to plants. It takes her a few breaths to realise that I can talk back. We chatted in a massive greenhouse just on the outskirts of Dublin where Chanelle works growing plants and making all the beautiful hanging baskets you see around the city. She has had a varied career to say the least, and being the open book that she is, gave me the run down of her life in 10 quick seconds. “I started off in design and then got lashed out of it in the 2008 recession. Then I retrained as a private chef, I moved to the south of France and was doing the Grand Prix and the Cannes Film Festival. I had a baby during Covid and became a single mother. I also became homeless because the house I was living in got sold and then to top it off, I lost my job as a chef.” In what many would have seen as a devastating situation, Chanelle used it as an opportunity to change careers yet again. “I drove by this garden centre one day, I had driven by so many times before but never actually went in. Something got me in here that day and I just asked if they were looking for staff and I haven’t left. So I retrained in horticulture.” Even though it took Chanelle 40 odd years to find her way to horticulture, it was more of a return to it than an introduction. “My dad had a nursery when we were kids and he was a landscaper. Then my mum did floristry. Actually, the lads here used to buy plants off my dad back thirty years ago. Back then I used to think I hated plants. I suppose when you hit 40, you kind of stop going out, your social life changes, and then you start looking at flowers in a different way, or even birdwatching.” Next time you’re driving through town and notice all the beautiful hanging baskets outside of pubs and hotels, you’ll know who exactly chatted away to those wee plants when they were being planted. Rx Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and created by Ruth Medjber, with sound by Ronan Lally. The podcast is produced by Dee Reddy at Poddle Audio with original music by Elaine Mai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
